Bluffton women defeat Manchester; men lose -
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The Bluffton University women's basketball team defeated Manchester University in dominating fashion (82-45) on Wednesday, Jan. 16. The win pushed Bluffton to 6-10 on the year (4-5 HCAC). Manchester dropped to 2-14 overall and 0-9 in the HCAC.

Manchester jumped out to an early 7-2 lead with 7:59 remaining in the first quarter. The Beavers would respond with an 11-2 run capped off by a Chelsea Moore (Delaware/Olentangy) tip-in and-one with 3:14 left in the quarter. It was a high scoring first period as the Beavers forged a 20-17 lead after one.

Kylie Brock (Villa Hills, KY) started off the second quarter with a hoop and harm from the free throw line, giving the Beavers a 23-17 spread. Manchester would fight back to take the lead after a layup by Haley Farris. A putback by freshman Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) knotted up the score (31-31) at the break.

The Beavers dominated the third quarter as they knocked down 12-of-18 from the floor for 66.7 percent en route to 29 points and a commanding 60-40 lead at the end of three. Bluffton limited Manchester to a miniscule 2-for-15 from the field (13.3 percent).

The song remained the same in the fourth quarter as the Beavers put up 22 more points in the final stanza, while Manchester went for just five. The Beavers absolutely dominated the second half (51-14) en route to an 82-45 victory.

Junior Lj Olverson (Cincinnati/Princeton) scored a team-best and career-high tying 16 points, going an efficient 7-of-9 from the floor while also pulling down six rebounds. Gillig tallied 14 points, including 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, with six rebounds of her own. Brock finished with 14 points off the bench as she provided instant offense from the moment she entered the game. Tj Mills (Dayton/Chaminade Julienne) scored 10 points and also dished out a team-high six assists. Sophomore Heidi Craddock (Lima/Bath) scored eight points while going 2-of-3 from three-point land in just four minutes of action.

Manchester was led by Beth Schaefer as she scored nine points for the vistors on 3-of-4 from the charity stripe with two blocks. Macy Miller paced the Spartans with seven rebounds.

Bluffton connected on 32-of-73 from the floor for 43.8 percent shooting. Manchester hit just 18-of-62 for 29 percent from the field. Bluffton was a respectable 7-of-20 from three-point range for 35 percent, while Manchester was a paltry 2-of-20 from long distance for 10 percent. The home team made 11-of-15 from the charity stripe (73.3 percent). Manchester was 7-for-11 from the free throw line (63.6 percent). The Beavers outrebounded the vistors (46-41) and also doubled the assists of Manchester (18-9).

The Beavers are back in the Sommer Center on Saturday, Jan. 19, for the first game of a home doubleheader when the Transylvania Pioneers come to town. The game was originally scheduled for 2 P.M., however, with the weather that is expected, tip-off has been switched to noon. The men's game will follow at approximately 2 P.M. Come out and support your Beavers!

MEN'S GAME REPORT

 The Bluffton University men's basketball team dropped a tough one on the road to the Manchester University Spartans, 74-68, on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019. Bluffton fell to 12-4 overall and 6-3 in the Heartland Conference, while Manchester improved to 6-10 and 3-6 in the HCAC.

The Beavers were up 24-14 when sophomore Aaron Rich (Greenville) hit a layup with 7:02 left in the first half. With a few unanswered buckets by the Spartans, Bluffton saw its lead slipping away as Manchester tied it up (29-29) with 3:02 left to play in the first stanza. Manchester's Nathan Carbaugh had a late tip-in that helped the Spartans to a 33-30 lead going into halftime.

The visitors were looking to fight back and retake the lead and they did just that. Junior Andrew Renner (Cairo/Bath) drilled a three-pointer with 14:32 left in the second stanza that put Bluffton up 45-44, but that would be the last time the Beavers were on top. Manchester started to get hot and the Beavers had no answer. The Spartans extended their lead to 73-63 with 33 seconds left, sealing the outcome and knocking Bluffton out of first place in the Heartland Conference.

Bluffton was led by Rich who netted 21 on 9-of-12 shooting and 1-of-1 from three-point land. He also pulled down three rebounds in the loss. Junior Andrew Renner put in 15 on 6-of-18 shooting, including 2-of-6 from behind the arc. He ripped down a team-high six rebounds on the night. Sophomore Dezman Brown (Elyria) netted 13 on 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from deep.

The Beavers hit 29-of-52 from the field for 55.8 percent, compared to 25-of-50 (50 percent) for the Spartans. Bluffton was an outstanding 6-of-13 from three-point land for 46.2 percent and the Spartans were equally impressive with 6-of-12 from behind the arc. The Beavers turned the ball over 15 times compared to the 13 times for the Spartans. Manchester pulled down five more rebounds (28-23) than the visitors.

The men will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 19, when they host the Transylvania University Pioneers in a Heartland Conference clash. Tip-off in the Sommer Center is slated for 2 p.m. following the conclusion of the women's noon contest.